Comic Transcripts

[[A young fellow, ARSTUR, speaks to his father, BLORTHINGTON, who sits at a desk covered in papers.]]

ARSTUR: There’s this great girl I cross paths with at school. I’d love to get to know her better.
BLORTHINGTON: Here’s what I did when I was your age!

BLORTHINGTON: There was a WONDERFUL girl I knew. I was terrified of letting her know I liked her, so I would never make eye contact with her, never say more than a few words to her. Always played it cool, you know?

BLORTHINGTON: She was GREAT. Very friendly, even a bit flirty…but I never let on how much I crushed on her. Didn’t want to seem like a creeper — wanted to let HER make the first move, from a place of comfort. This went on for YEARS. Man. She was AMAZING.

ARSTUR: Wow. And that’s how you met Mom?
BLORTHINGTON: Oh, no! I found out later this girl never even learned my name. Your mother and I met in a support group for sufferers of INVERTED PATELLA SYNDROME. So if you’ve ever wondered why your kneecaps are concave, well, you do come by it honestly

{{header: the eternally patient WONDERMARK.COM}}

#1155; The Passive Pining Stratagem transcribed by in

[[A young fellow, ARSTUR, speaks to his father, BLORTHINGTON, who sits at a desk covered in papers.]]

ARSTUR: There’s this great girl I cross paths with at school. I’d love to get to know her better.
BLORTHINGTON: Here’s what I did when I was your age!

BLORTHINGTON: There was a WONDERFUL girl I knew. I was terrified of letting her know I liked her, so I would never make eye contact with her, never say more than a few words to her. Always played it cool, you know?

BLORTHINGTON: She was GREAT. Very friendly, even a bit flirty…but I never let on how much I crushed on her. Didn’t want to seem like a creeper — wanted to let HER make the first move, from a place of comfort. This went on for YEARS. Man. She was AMAZING.

ARSTUR: Wow. And that’s how you met Mom?
BLORTHINGTON: Oh, no! I found out later this girl never even learned my name. Your mother and I met in a support group for sufferers of INVERTED PATELLA SYNDROME. So if you’ve ever wondered why your kneecaps are concave, well, you do come by it honestly

{{header: the eternally patient WONDERMARK.COM}}

#1155; The Passive Pining Stratagem transcribed by in

[[A young fellow, ARSTUR, speaks to his father, BLORTHINGTON, who sits at a desk covered in papers.]]

ARSTUR: There's this great girl I cross paths with at school. I'd love to get to know her better.
BLORTHINGTON: Here's what I did when I was your age!

BLORTHINGTON: There was a WONDERFUL girl I knew. I was terrified of letting her know I liked her, so I would never make eye contact with her, never say more than a few words to her. Always played it cool, you know?

BLORTHINGTON: She was GREAT. Very friendly, even a bit flirty...but I never let on how much I crushed on her. Didn't want to seem like a creeper -- wanted to let HER make the first move, from a place of comfort. This went on for YEARS. Man. She was AMAZING.

ARSTUR: Wow. And that's how you met Mom?
BLORTHINGTON: Oh, no! I found out later this girl never even learned my name. Your mother and I met in a support group for sufferers of INVERTED PATELLA SYNDROME. So if you've ever wondered why your kneecaps are concave, well, you do come by it honestly

{{header: the eternally patient WONDERMARK.COM}}

I bring up the story not because I think it's at all helpful to your situation, but because I never really stop thinking about it

#1155; The Passive Pining Stratagem

  — September 4th, 2015

[ Tags: , , ]       Permalink: https://wondermark.com/c/1155/

Buy a Print

New ways to get Bolted!

July 24, 2026 by David Malki !

In addition to buying things directly from me, the normal way, my game Bolted! is also now available on Amazon dot com.

On that famous website, you can also get the Creature-Crafting Magnets Set, which is made of the same artwork from the game, but is just a weird little trinket (not a playable game).

My kiddo made the elaborate version below to show off just how many magnets you get in the set (it’s 150 pieces in all — this isn’t even all of them).

Also now on Amazon is my set of Multi-Purpose Greeting Cards — a full dozen cards with envelopes in a fancy, unbranded, foil-stamped box!

Event alert!

I’ll also be showing off Bolted! at Greenwood Games, an event in Seattle this Saturday:

Greenwood Games is a free, all-ages community game event that invites players to spend the afternoon walking Greenwood Avenue from 65th to 80th, collecting clues, cracking puzzles, and discovering games made right here in Washington.

Think of it as Pride Hop, ArtWalk, and the Gumshoe all rolled into one,  except the whole thing is built around games and puzzles.​

Local game designers will be set up at different places along Greenwood Avenue in Phinney Ridge (near Ballard). My specific spot will be the “Holy Mountain Phinney Ridge Taproom”. All the information about all the different games & venues is on the website!

(If you’re in Seattle generally but not free tomorrow, Bolted! is also stocked at Blue Highway Games in Queen Anne.)

Next week, I’ll be at Gen Con! I personally will be hanging with my buddy Sam Logan at BFE Webcomics, booth #1217… but I have it on good authority that copies of Bolted! will be available at the CRWN Studios booth, #2549.

Visit one booth! Then the other! The order…is up to you.


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